


As Far as I'm Concerned

by Denizen_of_Dreamland



Series: Only Us (Dojima x Maruki) [2]
Category: Persona 4, Persona 5
Genre: Crying, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Late Night Conversations, Late at Night, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Married Couple, Nightmares, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Pillow Talk, Post-Canon, Sleepy Cuddles, persona rarepair week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:47:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27731779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denizen_of_Dreamland/pseuds/Denizen_of_Dreamland
Summary: Half the time, Ryotaro doesn’t know what’s going through Takuto’s mind. But, even so, he’ll always be there for his husband, no matter what.(Dojima comforts Maruki after a nightmare)
Relationships: Dojima Ryotaro/Maruki Takuto
Series: Only Us (Dojima x Maruki) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1778116
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	As Far as I'm Concerned

**Author's Note:**

> **Persona Rarepair Week 2020 Day 4:**  
>  Hurt/Comfort / ~~Future~~ (Though, technically, this could fit the “future” prompt too)

In the dead of night and in a small, quiet town like Inaba, the sounds of muffled crying were all the more noticeable. At first, Ryotaro’s sleep was interrupted only due to the sound itself, but he became more alert as soon as he realized where it was coming from. He stirred in his futon, let out a groan, which made the crying stop instantly, and forced himself to fully wake up.

After rubbing his eyes to wipe the sleepiness off them, he saw a shadow sitting crossed-legged at the edge of the futon. Considering the outline of the figure’s silhouette and the empty space next to Ryotaro, it could only be one person.

“Takuto?” Ryotaro asked, his groggy voice making him sound more inconvenienced than he would’ve liked. “What are you doing up at this hour?”

Takuto sighed, as he lifted one of his arms, presumably to scratch his head or place his hand against his forehead. “Ah, darling, I’m sorry... I woke you up…”

“Doesn’t matter. What’s wrong?”

Takuto hesitated, but, after some careful consideration, he shook his head, still not turning to look at Ryotaro. After a few more beats of silence, he answered.

“Nothing.” He said. “It’s okay, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine.”

Ryotaro frowned. “I can hear you’re obviously not fine. Tell me, what’s wrong?”

“Ryou, please, I didn’t mean to upset you. Everything’s alright.” Breathing in deeply, he turned his head towards a wall as if searching for a distraction to try and clear his head. “I just need a glass of water and I’ll be alright.”

Takuto moved to stand up, but Ryotaro caught his arm on time and brought him back onto the futon, pulling him closer with a “c’mere.” He grabbed Takuto’s shoulders and tried to position him so that they could both be comfortable, but every movement was awkward, as Takuto was strangely stiff. He tried to adjust himself, but he seemed to be purposely avoiding having to face Ryotaro, which made everything even more difficult.

It wasn’t long until Ryotaro figured out why he was acting that way. Takuto didn’t want him to look at his face, because, from up close, it was even more obvious that he had been crying; his cheeks were damp with tears and he had a heartbroken glint in his eyes that quickly turned into guilt under Ryotaro’s scrutinizing gaze.

“You’re having nightmares again, aren’t you?”

Takuto’s eyes narrowed, as he looked away from Ryotaro, and nodded almost imperceptibly.

It wasn’t much of a surprise. Every now and then, Takuto had nightmares that varied in intensity, that came and went in waves that couldn’t be predicted. After a couple of years of living together, Ryotaro had come to expect this kind of stuff to happen every once in a while, given Takuto’s turbulent past, so he already knew what to watch out for and how to react.

Although Ryotaro was mostly unaware of the contents of these nightmares, he could clearly see that they caused Takuto a lot of distress. His brain probably had a lot of material to work with, considering everything that Takuto had been through, while also factoring in the supernatural element... Ryotaro couldn’t even begin to imagine the kind of Lovecraftian horrors they featured, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to, to be honest.

That was worrying in and out of itself, but Ryotaro’s concern was only exacerbated by the fact that Takuto kept insisting on dealing with his nightmares by himself, instead of reaching out for help.

Ryotaro let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Takuto, you know you don’t have to deal with everything on your own. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s late and you have to get up early for work tomorrow, so I didn’t want to trouble you…” Takuto dipped his head. “But I guess that, in the end, I still did. I’m so sorry…”

He trailed off, his voice breaking with the last few words. Unable to resist anymore, he leaned in, buried his face into Ryotaro’s chest, and let the other man wrap his arms around his body. He gritted his teeth, his breathing hitching as he struggled to keep himself together, but a pained hiss escaped him despite his best efforts to choke back his tears.

“No need to apologize.” Ryotaro said, stroking Takuto’s back in a soothing motion. “Just… tell me when something’s wrong. I know you think it’s a pain, but it’s not. I love you, Takuto, and I wanna help you however I can. That’s what family is for.”

“You’re right.” Takuto whispered, not returning the embrace but gladly melting into it. “Keeping my problems to myself never turned out well for me, or for anyone around me.” He sucked in a breath and chuckled wryly. “I’m such a fool...”

“Hey.” Ryotaro softly pushed Takuto away so he could gaze into his eyes. “Things happen. People make mistakes. It’s okay.”

Takuto gave him a half-hearted smile, before falling over Ryotaro’s chest like a rag doll. He rested against Ryotaro, taking in as much of his warmth as possible, as he placed his arms around Takuto once again. Over the course of a few minutes, Takuto began to tremble in soft spasms, as it got harder to hold the pain in, until he let out a pitiful sob that broke Ryotaro’s heart.

“It’s okay.” He muttered. “Everything’s okay now. I’m here if you wanna talk.”

He knew that he probably wouldn’t, because it hurt him to talk about those nightmares of his, but the offer itself meant a lot to Takuto regardless. Ryotaro understood how important it was, too; after all, Takuto was a reserved person who hated burdening others, so he often needed to be reminded that there were people around him who did care about him and who truly wanted to help him.

“Nnh… It’s one of those migraines...”

Ryotaro perked up at Takuto’s voice.  _ That _ was a problem he could solve.

“Hold on, I’ll go get an aspirin.” He said, letting go of Takuto, shifting on the futon, and turning away from him. “Don’t move.”

“Ah, w-wait!”

Takuto reached out, grabbed Ryotaro’s shoulder, and pushed him down, preventing him from standing up. He pressed his forehead against Ryotaro’s back, his nose prodding against his skin, as his free hand clutched his arm, leaving the other man in an awkward position that he found he didn’t mind at all.

“P-Please. Stay.” Takuto mumbled against Ryotaro’s back. “I need to make sure this is real.”

Ryotaro couldn’t help but smile fondly, even though he knew Takuto couldn’t see him. “It’s okay.” He said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Ryotaro simply sat there, in silence, listening to the rhythm of Takuto’s soft but broken breathing, which gradually evened out over time. The hand around Ryotaro’s wrist was cold and the grip was tight, but it loosened up over time as Takuto grew more relaxed.

Takuto swallowed audibly in the stillness of the night, before whispering, “... Ryotaro?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you… satisfied with this reality?” Takuto spoke slowly, threading through his words carefully. “The one we’re in right now?”

“Takuto...” Ryotaro let out a sigh, rubbing at his temple. “Look. As far as I’m concerned, this is the reality where we are a family, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.”

The grip around Ryotaro’s wrist tightened again, as Takuto’s voice took on a sharp, pointed tone. “Are you sure?” He asked. “I understand that there’s a lot that I can’t provide, no matter how hard I try, so there’s no need to lie to spare my feelings.”

Ryotaro huffed. He looked over his shoulder with a smile. “Are you calling me a liar?”

Takuto’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, not at all! I just want to know if you’re a hundred percent sure. Our lives might not be perfect, but I want you to be happy… even if it’s not by my side.”

“What?” Ryotaro grimaced, shifting in place to face Takuto head-on. “I  _ am _ happy with the way things are right now. And, of course, I can’t speak for Nanako, but she seems happy too. You don’t have to do more than you’re already doing.” He reached up with one hand, gently cupping Takuto’s cheek. “I mean it.”

Takuto placed his own hand over Ryotaro’s and melted into his touch, his eyelids sliding shut. He breathed in and out, in and out, enjoying the soothing silence of the night, before he let out a strangled noise. “Thank you for saying that.” He muttered, his voice cracking. “You always know what to say.”

“Come on now. I’m still figuring this out.” Ryotaro said. “You know there’s not much I can do about stuff like this, other than to be here and lend you an ear.”

Takuto’s eyes fluttered open, gazing at him with either a lovestruck or sleepy expression. “Oh, no, Ryou, that’s alright.” He whispered, as he gave Ryotaro’s hand a soft squeeze. “That’s all I could ever ask for.”

Ryotaro couldn’t help but shake his head at that, as he brushed his fingers over Takuto’s forehead, sweeping the hair out of his husband’s face. “Heh, you’re saying cheesy crap again.”

“Well, it might sound cheesy, but it’s true.”

Ryotaro smiled, amused at Takuto’s adorable mannerisms and corny lines. “Aaaand you did it again.”

Takuto returned the smile in spite of himself, knowing full well he was guilty as charged. “Hey, if you want me to take your word at face value, I need you to take mine too. That includes all of the cheesy lines too, you know.”

“Okay, that’s fair.” Ryotaro shrugged, still absorbed in his task. Once he had successfully swept Takuto’s unruly bedhead to the side, he put a hand behind his husband’s head, and leaned in to press a kiss against his forehead. “If you’re feeling better, we should go to sleep. We have work tomorrow.”

“Ah, of course, yes!” Takuto said, right before a yawn escaped him, as if on cue. “... Let’s go back to sleep now.”

Takuto scooted away to make room for Ryotaro, since they had both moved towards the latter’s side of the futon, and laid down with a sigh. After rearranging his pillow, Ryotaro settled next to Takuto, who turned towards him and coyly wrapped his arms around his waist, placing his head over Ryotaro’s chest.

“Good night, darling.” He mumbled, eyes already closed. “Sweet dreams.”

Ryotaro smiled. “‘Night.” He said, briefly admiring Takuto’s peaceful expression before closing his eyes as well. “Sleep well, love.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yep, in this series, we're jumping straight from a first meeting to married life without an explanation! I should really fill in the gaps soon...
> 
> This is extremely self-indulgent because I just want Maruki to be vulnerable and Dojima to comfort him. Sometimes you need a good dose of that sweet hurt/comfort, you know?
> 
> I hope you enjoyed and do let me know what you think! I'm really soft for this ship; I just keep falling into the rabbit hole and I don't know how to get out. Rarepair Week really is enabling me, haha.
> 
> [Come check out my Tumblr!](https://denizen-of-dreamland.tumblr.com)


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